The document discusses the benefits of outsourcing payroll. It begins by introducing common payroll problems businesses face and argues that outsourcing payroll can help alleviate these issues. It then discusses why businesses choose to outsource, the types of outsourced payroll solutions available, and debunks common myths about outsourcing payroll. Finally, it provides steps on how to successfully outsource a business's payroll functions.

2. Contents
Introduction 2
Payroll outsourcing: The facts 4
Why outsource? 5
Bureau or managed payroll? 8
Debunking the myths 10
How to outsource your payroll 13
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 1Whitepaper
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 1

3. Introduction
Has anyone in your company ever been paid too much, too little, or even
not at all?
When your payroll system is running like a well-oiled machine, it goes
unnoticed. But when something goes wrong, it suddenly becomes a huge
problem.
And mistakes DO happen. Even the most experienced, meticulous payroll
professionals can make mistakes – they’re only human after all!
With mountains of paperwork, the pressure of providing an essential
service and the threat of harsh fines for incorrect submissions, in-house
payroll can be a real pain for your HR department.
Should you keep your payroll in-house?
Do you think in-house payroll is cheaper than an outsourced service? Are
you protective of employee pay details and want to manage last minute
amendments yourself?
Well, in reality, outsourced payroll is not only extremely cost effective, but
you’ll also get countless additional benefits which will save you a huge
amount of time and money, as well as taking some of the pressure off
your in-house staff.
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 2
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 2
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4. As one of your most critical processes, it’s essential that
your payroll always runs as smoothly, effectively and
legally compliant as possible. Ask yourself:
zz Are you concerned about your compliance with Real Time
Information (RTI)?
zz Does your business experience regular payroll errors?
zz Is your HR department struggling to cope under the strain of payroll?
zz Are you looking to cut costs within your payroll department?
zz Have you been fined by HMRC for incorrect submissions?
zz Are you spending too long on payroll processing every week/month?
zz Do you have problems with your in-house payroll software?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on to find out how
your business can benefit from outsourced payroll services and how to
implement it.
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 3
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 3
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5. Payroll
outsourcing:
The facts
zz 95% of UK businesses outsource at least one of their business
processes
zz 61% of businesses are open to the idea of outsourcing payroll, given
the right price and service levels
zz 63% of businesses already outsource their payroll operations
zz The main reason for outsourcing is that a significant part of the cost of
managing payroll can be spread across multiple companies
zz 42.4% of businesses believe the most important benefit of outsourcing
payroll is increased cost effectiveness
zz HMRC says that over 2 million businesses do not keep sufficient
records
zz Businesses which do not meet the required book-keeping standards
could be fined up to £3000
zz HMRC has increased its income from compliance investigations by 39%
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 4
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 4
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*Statistics sourced from a 2010 Accountancy Age Survey on Payroll Outsourcing and from HMRC.

6. Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 5
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 5
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Did you know that outsourcing your payroll is one of the best ways to
improve the efficiency of your business? There are dozens of ways that
payroll outsourcing can dramatically benefit you and your employees.
Here are just a few…
Cost effective
Consider the costs of employee salaries and benefits, National Insurance
contributions, the price of your payroll software and the maintenance
fees.
On top of that, you have time costs for training and processing - not to
mention the price of paper, ink and stationery! You’ll find outsourcing
everything for a monthly or yearly fee is much cheaper. If you’re hiring
internally, your payroll could cost you £15,000 for someone’s salary.
Outsourcing can cost as little as £800.
Efficient
Payroll processing is not only time-consuming but it also stops employees
from tending to important tasks. By outsourcing this process, your
employees can focus on adding value elsewhere, leaving your provider
to use the vast technical resources at their disposal to efficiently process
your payroll.
Compliant
Under new legislation called Real Time Information (RTI), you’ll get fined
if you fail submit information to HMRC each time an employee is paid.
This can be financially damaging to businesses who struggle to keep on
top of data or work with an unreliable system. With outsourced payroll,
it’s all taken care of by your provider, who will fully prepare you for any
upcoming changes.
Why
outsource?

7. Secure
Are you reluctant to switch to an outsourced payroll service because of
security concerns? No need to worry! Your sensitive information is held
in a secure, backed-up and password protected environment, often with
technology which helps you identify payroll fraud.
Accountable
When it comes to accuracy, your payroll provider is far less likely to
make a mistake. But, in this unlikely event, the provider holds complete
accountability. If there’s a delay, or paperwork is handled incorrectly, it’s
up to your provider to clean up the mess.
If they can’t or won’t, you can simply take legal action and quickly change
provider. If an employee makes the same error, you’ll find it difficult to
fire them, then replace and train a new recruit in the time it would take to
move on from a payroll provider.
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 6
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 6
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8. Bureau or
managed?
Every organisation has its own specific payroll needs. And that’s exactly
why payroll providers offer so many flexible choices to ensure you get
exactly what you need, for the right price.
You can choose from either a ‘Bureau’ or ‘Managed’ payroll service, which
offer different levels of service dependent on…
zz How much involvement you want
zz How many employees you have
zz How much in-house expertise you have
zz How much expertise you want to keep in-house
zz How much visibility you want to maintain
zz How much you want to spend
‘Bureau’ requires a joint effort from the payroll provider and the business
itself. ‘Managed’ offers a full service, taking the burden of payroll
completely off your hands.
Bureau
All the benefits of an in-house payroll system, without the hassle
With a cost effective Bureau Service, you can take control of your payroll
and employee information. Simply send the data to your payroll provider,
they’ll process the payroll and provide employee payslips and reports so
you can make payments to employees, HMRC, pension companies and
all other relevant third parties.
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 8
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 7
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9. You’ll be provided with a fully-developed system, saving you time and
money, and give you the peace of mind that your payroll is being well
looked after. You can even benefit from a self-service cloud-based system
where your employees can view their own payslips online.
If you prefer a level of control over your payroll functions, Bureau will be
perfect for you. While your in-house team takes care of data-entry and
reporting, the processing and payslip production is handled externally.
Ensure you have a clear idea of the amount of the support you’ll receive
from your provider so you know the exact skills and level of involvement
you’ll need in-house.
Managed
Remove the headache of running your own payroll, so you can get on
with running your business
If you don’t want to worry about your payroll ever again, you can get
the full package with Managed Payroll. Your payroll will be completely
looked after for you, including data capture, processing, printing,
distribution and reporting…everything! All you have to do is collect payroll
data and pass this on to your provider.
Your payroll provider will ensure your employees are paid accurately
and on-time - whether that’s weekly, fortnightly or monthly. They’ll even
take care of BACS payments for you - straight into bank accounts or as
cheques - and generate of year-end statements and forms.
With the introduction of RTI, compliance with HMRC legislation has never
been more important. But, with expert payroll professionals managing
your payroll for you, RTI worries are a thing of the past. A fully managed
solution is typically more expensive than a partial service, though many
find that this cost is offset by savings in software and personnel.
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 9
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 9
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10. Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 10
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 10
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Debunking the
myths
Some business owners are reluctant to outsource their payroll – but, in
reality, most of the reasons people don’t want outsource are just myths.
We’re here to show you that these myths about outsourcing your payroll
have no basis in fact…
I’ll have less control
Just because it’s handled off-site doesn’t mean you’ll have any less
control than you need.
You can still handle the processes, such as who gets paid and how much
they get, so you’ll still maintain some control.
It’s less flexible
Last minute or unscheduled changes to employee’s pay can be handled
just as flexibly with a payroll provider.
However, this may require using a good provider with a strong customer
service team. By building a solid relationship with your account manager,
there will really be no difference to having someone sat in your office and
any changes can be made with ease.
It’s impersonal
Many payroll providers are not impersonal at all – if you select the right
one.
At Moorepay, for example, we see new client relationships as absolutely
crucial. A contact will get to know an organisation personally and gain an
understanding of any particular requirements it may have.
We’ll develop a working knowledge of your payroll and double check all
data for accuracy.

11. Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 11
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 11
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It’s unreliable
An established provider should provide reliable, accurate data processing
month on month, year on year. Processing thousands of payslips a month
for local and national companies is proof of a reliable service.
For example, at Moorepay, we ensure a payslip accuracy of over 99.65% -
Can your own in-house payroll department boast the same statistics?
It’s less secure
There is a common misconception that payroll data stored outside the
organisation will be vulnerable to access or even get lost. But, in reality,
your data will be more secure, since an outsourced payroll provider
invests heavily in technology so it’s much more robust.
Moorepay, for example, uses secure cloud-based software with a full back
up and recovery of the systems within 8 hours of any disasters.
In contrast, the majority of smaller businesses will have little or no back up
or disaster recovery if their payroll system breaks down. Some businesses
are also worried about the sensitivity of financial information. But, since
the introduction of the Data Protection Act, outsourced payroll data is, in
fact, protected and kept ‘safe’ by law.
It’s more expensive
It is certainly NOT more expensive to hire out your payroll processing.
When you consider the cost of an employee’s wages and add in benefits –
payroll costs quickly add up. If you are the owner of a very small company
and you are trying to do payroll yourself, the cost of your time is even
greater.
I’m happy with how things are
You might well be happy with your payroll set-up, but what happens if the
payroll software system breaks down or someone is ill? By not having to
think about the monthly grind of payroll, you and your team can focus
on other aspects of your business which are more important and more
productive.
You can avoid dealing with HMRC and forget about changes in payroll
legislation - because it’s all handled by your provider – and it’s also
fantastic if you are thinking about streamlining your business.

12. Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 12
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 12
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Changing methods is a hassle
Even though every organisation has its own specific processes and
procedures, a good outsourced payroll provider will absorb any pain of
change over.
At Moorepay, we work closely with clients at every stage to make
the process as easy as possible. Our implementation consultants are
responsible for making it all happen.
You might expect implementation to be a time-consuming process, but it
can take anything from a few hours to 10 days.
We still need payroll expertise in-house
Some organisations think that having a payroll expert onsite is required to
manage both data and the relationship with the payroll provider – but this
isn’t true.
All that you’ll need is a point of contact with a good understanding of your
business. They don’t need to know anything about payroll, just where to
get the necessary data from.
So, with the myths of outsourced payroll exposed and the dust settled –
why not stop making ‘excuses’ and find out what to do, which we address
in our next section.

13. Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 13
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 13
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How to
outsource
If you’re coming around to the idea that outsourcing your payroll may be
the best option for your business, we have put together these simple steps
to help you.
1 Assess your current payroll
The first step is to assess the current processes, practices, employees and
existing costs in your organisation in order to give you a clear picture of
your strengths and weaknesses.
As a result, your overall decision making will be well-informed and precise.
2 Define your requirements
On completing your initial assessment, the next step is to have a clear
idea what, and how much, of your processes is to be outsourced. Do you
want a managed or bureau solution?
3 Analyse the provider market
Once you know what you want, it’s time to do your research. Not all
payroll providers offer the same service, so it’s important to know the
processes, activities or even countries you are outsourcing to.
4 Prepare the proposal
You need to document your expectations to ensure your payroll provider
acts in an efficient and effective way. Face to face discussions can also
help in reducing and save excess paperwork, time and effort on both sides.

14. Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 14
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 14
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5 Select a great payroll provider
When selecting your outsourced payroll provider you should do a
background check on them before making any decisions. At Moorepay, for
example, we pride ourselves on:
zz A variety of integrated solutions to support your payroll, HR and
compliance needs - no matter how diverse they may be.
zz Being prompt to respond to your needs, be it from the initial sales
enquiry, through to implementation, delivery and on-going support.
zz Constantly evolving and updating our systems and processes to
provide you with the latest technology available in the marketplace.
zz Accuracy, delivery and quality of the services and solutions we
provide.
zz A dedicated team of solution experts so you can rest assured your
business and employees are in safe hands.
Before you make a decision on your provider, it’s essential to ensure your
payroll provider fulfils these criteria.
6 Prepare a watertight service level agreement
When you are preparing your contract, or ‘service level agreement’, you
should outline…
zz Responsibilities of your provider and staff members
zz A clear process for resolving potential disagreements
zz Clearly defined responsibility and accountability in the case of
payroll errors
zz A defined process for identifying errors
zz Clearly defined deadlines
zz Scheduled negotiations

15. Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 15
Benefits of payroll outsourcing | PAGE 15
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7 Implement your strategy in the most efficient way
In order to successfully implement your new outsourced payroll, you need
to ensure you understand your company’s new responsibilities and that
your team is efficiently resourced and skilled to deal with them.
Depending on the type of outsourcing service you have selected, you’ll
either have to either input the data into your new system or send it
to your provider. There may also be some extra training or employee
communication required.
After that, it’s a simple case of ensuring you and your provider stick to
the deadlines you put in place. Then, sit back and relax – but know that,
should any problems arise, your provider is available to help you.
Are you ready to improve your business with an outsourced payroll
solution? We can help! Find out more at http://www.moorepay.co.uk or
call 0845 184 4615.
Understand how your
payroll is currently being
processed and why this
method was chosen
Sit back and relax!
But know that should
any problem arise, your
provider is available to
help rectify the issue
Either input data into
your system or send
data to your provider
(depending on your
solution)
Implement and test
the new system
Understanding how
your provider’s
performance will be
measured and which
deliverables should
be met
Define the requirements
to your provider, i.e. the
specific requirements of
your payroll
Choose a provider. Check:
They have a good track record
with companies like yours
They utilise the relevant
technology
They can keep you compliant
They are able to provide
support and training where
necessary
Define your goals
for outsourcing. Is it
to cut cost? Improve
processes?
Choose between a
bureau or managed
solution and understand
the level of information
you will be required to
pass to your chosen
provider